Armor of God Series – Shields Up!

If you are even a little bit of a “Trekkie” you know the importance of the phrase “shields up!” when facing danger of any kind, whether that danger is a meteor storm or the attack of an aggressive life form.  

Ephesians 6:16 [NKJV] tells us, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

“Above all” take up the shield of faith.

Why not “above all” put on the helmet of salvation? Or “above all” take up the sword of the spirit – the word of God?

Arthur H. “Red” Motley, the publisher of Parade Magazine, is credited with saying “Nothing happens until somebody sells something”.

Similarly, I would say, “no one survives unless you lift up your shield”. In other words, no other part of the armor works very well unless you lift up your first line of defense: your shield.

The shield of faith is the thing that keeps the fiery darts of the wicked one from ever getting to your breastplate or helmet.

Psalm 119:114 [NKJV] You [are] my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

We know that Jesus was concerned that He would not find faith on the earth at the time of His return. [See Luke 18:8] We know that we cannot please God without faith. [See Hebrews 11:6] And we know that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. [See Romans 10:17]

We also know that Jesus was the Word of God that came and dwelt among us to show the way to live by faith. [See John 1:1]

We could talk about how the Roman shield depicted here is a large, oblong shield, shaped much like a door. This was not puny round, easy to hoist shield. Leading us to understand that faith is no small protection, but rather provides a wide area of coverage that we can stand behind.

We could note that this is actually the only place in the New Testament that uses this word for shield, leading us to consider that the shield of faith is the only thing that actually provides this level of protection.

But here is the cool thing: When we examine other scriptures – especially the Psalms of David – we learn that God is our shield. He is what we lift up to protect us. David knew that. He called on or praised God for that protection in his Psalms many times. Here are just a few:

Psalm 18:2 [NKJV] 2The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 28:7 [NKJV] The LORD [is] my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

Psalm 119:114 [NKJV] You [are] my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

It is God Himself who stands between us and the destroyer. He is our faith. He is our shield.

When the fiery darts of the wicked one head our way, we can be like little children, positioning ourselves behind our Father protector. The wiles of the devil cannot penetrate the protection of our Father.

You wanna come at me Satan, you gotta go through Abba first. Good luck on that. You are no match for our Father, our strength and shield. Satan can only get through when we try to take him on ourselves; when do not put God between us and those fiery darts.

Shield up, sweet sisters. Raise up the Word of God and stand behind our Father Protector, our Sheild of Faith.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comment section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org